Space Studies Institute is a
not-for-profit
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
organization that was founded in 1977 by
Princeton University Professor
Gerard K. O'Neill
Gerard Kitchen O'Neill (February 6, 1927 – April 27, 1992) was an American physicist and space activist. As a faculty member of Princeton University, he invented a device called the particle storage ring for high-energy physics experiments. L ...
.
In 2009 SSI moved its operations from its long-term base in Princeton, New Jersey, to Mojave, California. SSI is involved in several initiatives, including a solar sail project that it is developing with Carnegie Mellon University and an effort to find asteroids that could be mined for valuable materials. The use of extraterrestrial resources in
space settlement
A space habitat (also called a space settlement, space colony, spacestead, space city, orbital habitat, orbital settlement, orbital colony, orbital stead or orbital city) is a more advanced form of living quarters than a space station or habi ...
has received increasing attention in recent years.
The Institute has sponsored research studies on several transport systems for the development of space. Their first program was in the development of prototype
mass driver systems. They are also studying the use of an ''Orbital Transfer Vehicle'' as a component of space manufacturing. Other areas of research include a search for Earth-Sun Trojan
asteroid
An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere.
...
s, a design study of a ''Lunar Polar Probe'' to search for water and useful volatiles at the poles of the
Moon, and studies of reuse of the
Space Shuttle external tank. O'Neill performed a study of a large space habitat named ''
Island Three'' that could house 10,000,000 people.
See also
*
Space advocacy
*
Space manufacturing
*
Associated Universities, Inc.
*
Space Science Institute
References
External links
Space Studies InstituteScience CentralSmithsonian/NASAFreeman Dyson's bio of Gerard K. O'NeillVideo archive of the conferences
Space organizations
Non-profit organizations based in California
Organizations established in 1977
Freeman Dyson
Space advocacy organizations
Space manufacturing
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